When a face image is captured to carry out skin management and medical treatment as they are currently done, a high-resolution global face image is captured and magnified, and then a local region of the captured global face image is explored. Alternatively, if necessary, only a local region of a face is captured using a local face capturing device and then used. In this case, global face data and local face data are handled independently, or a relationship between the two pieces of data is designated in a manual operation performed by a user. For example, simple text descriptors such as “right eye rim” and “upper right cheek” are attached to individual captured regions of local face data or, alternatively, corresponding points are directly designated in a facial region image, so that the correlations between the local face data with the global face data are set. This is similar to a case in which a user sets correspondence relationships between a high-resolution map (a small-scale map) and a low-resolution map (a large-scale map) using a manual operation and compares and explores the two maps.
The above-described conventional technology is disadvantageous in that it is merely possible to separately explore global face data captured at a low-power magnification and local face data captured at a high-power magnification, or to only use parts of such data when conducting exploration using approximate correspondence relationships obtained by using the manual operation.
Further, there is a conventional method of obtaining three-dimensional (3D) images of the surroundings of internal organs based on the anatomical features of the exterior of the internal organs, generating a geometrical model from the 3D images, obtaining another 3D image including the internal organs using an invasive probe, and matching this 3D image with the previously generated geometrical model. However, in this method, target objects that are handled are limited to internal organs of a human body.
Further, there is another conventional apparatus for matching 3D CT scan data with an endoscopic image and showing in real time the resulting matching image when performing paranasal sinus surgery. However, even in this apparatus, target objects that are handled and the components and applications of the invention are also limited to within a specific range.